Before the Next Blooming
by shinobi-Sakura
Summary: She looked at him, knowing she should be fearful but not being able to avert her gaze. He searched her face for any sign of hesitation as she pondered what his answer could possibly be. He smirked 'My Heart has not beaten since the day I was born.'


To readers: 'came up with this little idea a few months ago and thought it sounded alright in my head so 'thought I would test the idea on paper or something of the sort. Please read through and let me know if I still have something here.

Disclaimer: In a world where everything is at my disposal, school is illegal, and wishes do come true . . . I still would not own 'Naruto'

'Before the Next Blooming'

When I was born it was blooming. The sky was ablaze with light pink petals floating in the breeze. They seemed to have come when I came into this world and not to have existed any other time before my birth, or so my mother used to say. When I was born there was to only be faces filled with joy and happiness, and to stay that way for many days to come and pass. 

But happiness can only last as long as it is meant to dwell within others.

When I was born the pink petals bloomed in the warm spring weather on the sunniest of days.

The doctors said something was wrong. Quickly as I had come I had been removed from my mother's warm grasp and taken into a white room filled with machines. I was too young to remember they said, but I do remember. I remembered everything.

When I was born the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. They said that I would probably not live to see another pink petal past my thirteenth year. Nothing could be done, nothing at all they said.

When I was born on the day, with the pink petals, I brought something else to the world.

Hope.

"Sakura-san," an attendant called. "Please stop doing this Sakura-san."

Pushing past a number of nurses, the attendant ran to the nearly closed door in the closed off section of the hallway. Pushing it open the attendant scanned the room and rested his eyes on the patient he had been chasing after. Slowly he moved towards her keeping a nervous glance moving from the door and his first patient since he had come to work at the hospital from school.

"Please Sakura-san," he said. "Come back to your room so I can finish taking your physical."

The girl in turn turned to face him. Her bright pink hair grazed past her shoulders and her bright green eyes shown with excitement at an unknown idea. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and fixed the attendant with a triumphant look. "But now if I did that where would the fun be?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.

"You should go back to your room Sakura-san," the attendant tried again. "What if you have another attack while you are not being cared for?"

At this Sakura smiled briefly at the young man and let her eyes drift to the window behind her back. The attendant smiled nervously, thinking he had won the battle, and moved to help her back to her room. Instead she turned to the window and pushed the frame up enough for her to slip through.

"Sakura-san!" the attendant cried. "Please don't do this!"

Sakura gave him one last fleeting look and with such speed unseen by most others she hoisted her leg past the wood and jumped. The attendant moved to the window and looked towards the ground. Sakura landed on her legs only two floors below and turned to the attendant with bright eyes. Without a moments hesitation she stuck her tongue out and headed towards the park near the hospital, leaving the attendant muttering under his breath of 'never working in this department again'.

Sakura grinned happily as she strolled through the park. Here no one knew who she was or what was to become of her very soon. Here she was just another soul would had come to seek some enjoyment and fresh air in all of nature's beauty. As she walked her eyes traveled across the serenity of the area. At night really was the best time to visit such a place. The day held its peace, there was no doubt about that, but at night things came alive in such a way that day could not hope to compare with in the least.

She started skipping along the edges of the small pond towards the center figure which was carved from pure stone in all its glory. 'Soon,' she thought as she turned her eyes to one of the trees blowing in the wind. 'Soon the cherry blossoms will bloom again.'

As she looked onward her spirits began to slowly dampen. The reason she came to this place was to feel at peace with everything. The reason she came to this place was so she could experience something extraordinary. The reason she came to this place was to. . . . see something like that! A brief flash of something in the night sky caught her attention. Something was falling as though being pushed off of the edge of heaven itself. Picking up speed the object fell through the dark air and landed somewhere in the thick patch of green contrasting to the black night.

Quickly Sakura rushed over the small bushes and under the tall branches to the fallen thing. She came upon it quite suddenly and almost let out a small shriek at what she had found before putting her hand over her mouth.

It was a boy, which was fairly obvious when she looked back on it. But another thought crossed her mind instantly after she got her nerves under control; he was beautiful. His hair was as dark as the night sky without the imperfections of cluttered bits of smog and clouds. Her eyes traveled across his sprawled hair to his skin. As pale as the moon itself, it seemed to fit his persona rather well where if it her skin was as pale she would give the resemblance to a sickly ghost or a lifelike doll. His body looked to be in the highest of forms which meant he had to be getting his daily dose of movement and health, aside from his pale skin. Dressed only in a simple coat, dark pants, and a simple pair of sneakers she had never seen anything so simple yet so. ... . not.

He had such features that reminded her of a precious idol that parents often scolded their children for touching in fear that it would shatter from their touch. Sakura kneeled against the grass and edged to the unconscious figure, her pieces of fear growing with each movement.

'What if he wakes up?' she thought. 'Idiot, don't you want him to wake up and be actually breathing rather than a limp person that is constantly seen in the papers.'

She quickly shook the images of flashing lights and headlines of "Park unsafe at night due to recent dead body found" and "Dead boy found in unsafe area leads many to believe no one is safe".

As she did so she became aware of how close she was to him now. In fact if she were to reach out, just like she was doing now, she could actually feel his skin against the tips of her fingernail just like. . . .. . .

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Quickly she withdrew her outstretch hand at the sudden noise. Her eyes darted around the surrounding area to try and uncover who had shouted at her but could find nothing. Turning back to the boy her eyes instantly widened with what or rather who she was facing.

Facing her were a pair of dark identical orbs which belonged to a head of dark hair and lovely pale skin which was forming an annoyed expression on his lips and was emitted through his eyes.

"Well?" he repeated. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

'Jerk,' Sakura managed to get out but kept it inside her. "Well seeing as you just fell from the sky I was checking to see if you were injured."

He raised a brow in thought for a moment and then a wave of realization must have hit him for the next second he was cringing. "Don't touch me," he spat annoyed at her previous attempt. "No way in hell I want your kind laying a finger on me."

With that he moved to stand on his feet and miraculously was able to do so with no problems. With even wider eyes than before Sakura continued to stare at him dumbfounded at the easy way he stretched his limbs.

"Hold on a second here," Sakura contemplated out loud. "You should be on the ground in uncontrollable pain, or dead for that matter."

The young man gave her a bored look as she babbled onward. "Your point being?"

"My point being," she said rather sarcastically and pointed right at him to make her point. "Why in lord's name are you even still breathing?'Forget the fact that you can stand up.'

He eyed her for a moment, letting his eyes snake over her body. She shivered and became aware of how little she had put on in her attempt to leave the hospital unnoticed. Of course it wasn't all her fault really. When you only have plain white issued gowns, a few skirts that left not much to the imagination and a couple non-figure flattering sweaters well your possibilities were very limited. Sakura pulled her thin coat, an early birthday present from one of the younger hospital staff members, tighter around her body in an attempt to conceal herself.

"Well," she stated again, this time with a more commanding tone. "How are you still alive?" She added emphasis on 'alive'.

The young man rolled his eyes at her attempt and eyed her wanting look. Sure enough her stance made her look calm and unconcerned but her eyes told a different side to her words. She was curious and held a wanting need that would only be satisfied when she found her answer. It was a trait that made weaklings out of most people and would normally result in one ending up in a black body bag.

"What if I were to tell _you_ (he spat the word out with moderate distaste) that I never really was," he said low enough for Sakura to catch over the wind. Even as he said it the wind started to quickly pick up, gnawing at her hair with a vicious force. It left him perfectly untouched.

"What do you mean?" It came out more like a pained whisper over the wind but sounded painful in her throat.

He smirked.

"My heart has never beaten for a moment since I was born."


End file.
